HD Hyundai Heavy Industries announced that it recently held a launch ceremony for the ‘Chimbote,’ the first of the Peruvian Navy’s new landing support ships, at the SIMA shipyard in Peru.

The launch ceremony was attended and directly hosted by Keiko Fujimori, President of Peru, with the attendance of government officials and relevant figures from both countries, including Rafael Belaunde, Peruvian Minister of Defense; Federico Javier Bravo de Rueda Delgado, Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Navy; Choi Jong-uk, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Peru; and Joo Won-ho, President of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The Chimbote, launched on this occasion, is the first of two new landing support ships jointly constructed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and the SIMA shipyard. In April 2024, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries won an order from the Peruvian Navy for a total of four naval vessels, including a frigate, an offshore patrol vessel, and landing support ships, and subsequently began the simultaneous construction of the two landing support ships. Currently, the second ship, the ‘Talara,’ has also completed all of its land-based construction processes at the beginning of this month.

The ‘Chimbote’ and the ‘Talara’ are multipurpose landing support ships that will perform various missions, including the transportation of personnel and materials, as well as logistics support and disaster response. Both ships were named after major port cities in Peru.

This naval vessel export project to Peru by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is evaluated to have presented a new export model for K-ships. This is because it transformed the concept of naval vessel exports from the delivery of finished products after domestic construction to local joint production through technical cooperation, thereby upgrading the naval vessel business from simple ship manufacturing to an engineering business.

In fact, this Peruvian naval vessel project was carried out in a manner where HD Hyundai Heavy Industries provided the design and technical support, while the SIMA shipyard utilized its local production facilities to participate in block production and assembly, outfitting, and testing and commissioning. This is the reason why further increases in exports are expected in the future, especially in a situation where a growing number of countries are demanding the local construction of ordered naval vessels.

In particular, government-level support and public-private cooperation played a core role in this export project. First, the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration promoted cooperation with the Peruvian government, providing lateral support for the naval vessel exports of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Peru and KOTRA also carried out support activities by utilizing communication with the Peruvian government and their local networks.

Keiko Fujimori, President of Peru, stated, “We are not simply constructing a single naval vessel, but we are building capabilities for the future,” and added, “This project is also contributing to job creation, human resources development, and the expansion of supply chains related to the shipbuilding industry.”

Joo Won-ho, President of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, stated, “The launch of the Chimbote this time can be considered an achievement of Team Korea, realized through the unification of the public and private sectors,” adding, “We will diversify the export market by enhancing the competitiveness of K-ships.”

Source:Business Korea